Last Sunday at the Fonda, I spent a whirlwind night with Chazwick Bradley Bundick, or Toro Y Moi. I bought tickets for the sold out event ages ago, and I have been counting down the days to this show ever since. I forgot how much I liked Toro, I hadn’t really listened to his stuff since high school, but recently my roommate sent me “Leave Everywhere” on Spotify, and I rekindled my love for the bright sounds Toro Y Moi is known for; additionally Chaz has a bit of a novelty-appeal for me since he and I share similar half Filipino-half African American roots, and I like to pretend he is my long lost brother--too much?

Anyway, Toro Y Moi were fantastic. I’d never seen any recordings of the group performing together, only a couple videos of Chaz doing broken down versions of some of his new tracks off of Anything in Return (check out this awesome version of “Studies”). It was really interesting being able to put a face to his various songs, and observe the musicality and dynamic nature of his music which I hadn’t really considered consciously while listening to his albums. Often, I get lost in the finely produced, electro-pop stylings, that I forget he has a live band with him. This was probably the best part of the show, seeing him live added this whole other dimension to how I will experience his music from there on out.

Also, I love the Fonda. It was only my second time seeing a show there since 3LAU in December (got those free KXSC tickets, what up), and I finally had time to notice all the cool frescoes they have on the walls. It’s actually super creepy, but I like it. Also, my best friend was visiting from Boston and she had balcony tickets while my roommate and I had floor, and a really cool security guard let her join us as a courtesy. Such good vibes at the Fonda. Bonus: their bathrooms are super clean.

So yeah, final recommendation, definitely go to a Toro Y Moi show one day. Unfortunately, this was their final stop on the US portion of their tour, but there’s always the new album to keep you company until then.

P.S. The opening act, Sinkane was awesome! I had never heard of them before, but their sound was killer, plus they have a fantastic wardrobe between the four of them, which is always greatly appreciated by me, personally.